~Mason~
She’s so much more than I remember. She was always funny, and smart. Sexy. But it’s like she’s all of that times one hundred.
And I’m quickly learning that I’m pulled to her in that inexplicable way all over again.
She’s marching ahead of me at a fast clip after her good job remark, which I can’t help but laugh at. The kiss was unexpected, and her reaction is encouraging.
She wants me as well.
It will be interesting to see how long we can keep our hands off of each other while on this trip.
Without looking back at me, she storms into the main building, letting the door slam behind her. I follow her in, the stone heavy in my pocket.
“How did you do?” Ted asks.
“Fantastic,” I reply and show him our opal.
“That’s a beauty,” he says with a nod. “Good job.”
Lena chokes, coughs, her face turning bright red.
“Are you okay?” Ted asks, but she just nods, and I can’t help but laugh again.
“Inside joke,” I inform him. “What do I owe you for this?”
“Nothing,” he replies and reaches under the counter. He passes me two white envelopes this time. “The top one is the name of your hotel, the room number, and your keys. The other is your next clue.”
“Wow, every detail has been taken care of,” Lena says in surprise as we walk out to the car.
“Doesn’t surprise me.” I open the hotel information first, and pull it up on my GPS. “The hotel is close by.”
“Thank goodness,” she says with a sigh. “I’m ready for food and a shower.”
I nod, not wanting to think too hard about a wet, naked Lena while I’m in the same room with her. My dick is already permanently semi-hard just from being so close to her.
“Let’s find our room, get some food, and then we’ll open the clue.”
“Sounds good,” she says with a nod. “And about the good job comment—”
“Don’t.” I shake my head and smile at her. “It’s maybe one of my favorite moments with you. You’re a fun delight, Lena.”
“A fun delight,” she says with a laugh. “I’ve been called worse.”
The hotel is close by, and our room is a simple, double bed room on the second floor.
“Nothing fancy,” I say as we wheel our bags inside.
“It’s a tiny town,” she replies. “I’m happy if it’s clean.”
And it is. The bathroom is small but clean and functional, and we’ll only be here overnight anyway.
“Food,” she insists. “I saw a Denny’s about a block away.”
“I’m fine with that if you are.”
“So fine with it,” she replies with a nod, already walking to the door. “Feed me, Dr. Jones.”
“Are you going to call me that all the time?”
“Yes.” She laughs.
***
“Miss Jade is a tricky one. You might get wet.” Lena reads the clue aloud again and then stares off into space. She’s sitting on her bed, cross-legged. She’s in yoga pants and a simple T-shirt, her blonde hair is piled on top of her head, and I want nothing more than to strip her naked and explore every fucking inch of her.
This whole two bed thing is out of the question going forward.
“Jade is my middle name,” Lena informs me. “I’m told it’s because jade inspires peace and calm.”
“Do you feel calm and peaceful?” I ask, stretching out on my bed, my hands tucked behind my head.
“Not usually,” she says with a smile. “I admit, I’m lost on this one.”
“I’m not.”
Her gaze whips up to mine in surprise. “What? Why didn’t you say something?”
“Because you’re beautiful when you’re thinking hard.”
She scoffs, but her cheeks turn the prettiest shade of red. I want to watch them flush for other reasons entirely.
“I’m quite sure she wants us to go hunt for some jade at Big Sur, California.”
“Oh, fun!” She claps her hands and immediately reaches for her phone, presumably to search Google. “I had no idea that you could find jade there. I’ve always wanted to see Big Sur. The photos I’ve seen are amazing.”
“It’s beautiful,” I agree. “Or I’m told.”
“You haven’t been either?”
I shake my head no.
“Good. We will see it together.” She smiles as she pages through her phone, and then frowns. “It’s another nine hour drive tomorrow.”
“So we’d better leave early.”
She nods and plugs her phone in, then climbs under the covers.
“Good night.”
She falls asleep quickly, but I’m awake for a long while after her. I know she’s not indifferent to me. When I came out from the shower her eyes traveled over my body like she was memorizing every inch of me. Of course, I wasn’t naked, but I want to be. I don’t know if we could have a relationship, but I want her.
And I’m going to have her.
***
“I hope this whole trip isn’t a road trip,” Lena says the next day as we pull into Big Sur. “Nine hours is a long time.”
“I agree.” We left later than I’d hoped because we both slept in, and by the time we ate and got on the road it was close to nine in the morning.
But we’re not on a schedule.
“Do we know where we’re staying?” she asks.
“Yes, when I checked out of the hotel this morning, the lady asked me if we’d figured out the clue. When I told her we’re headed to Big Sur, she handed me an envelope with hotel information.”
“I’m seriously impressed with how well executed this whole thing has been. And we’re only on the second clue.”
“I admit, I’m impressed as well.” I pull into our hotel and we both go inside to check in.
“Oh yes, Dr. Coulter. Your room is ready.” The front desk woman passes me two keys. “And you’re in luck. Low tide is in about thirty minutes. So go drop your things off in your room, and then head on out.”
“Are we going to need tools for this?” Lena asks.
“Yes. I have a flashlight and a bag here for you,” she replies and passes it to me.
“The beach is rockier than I expected,” Lena says when we make it down there a little later. “I was expecting sandy beaches.”
“Those are farther south,” I reply with a smile and hold her hand while she gingerly chooses her footing down to the shore. “This is more rugged.”
“It’s gorgeous,” she says. “Are there sharks here?”
“Probably.”
“Not going in the water,” she says, shaking her head adamantly. “Where do we find the jade?”
“From what I understand, we just look around the tide pools. They might be under other rocks.”
She nods and immediately gets to work, picking through rocks. “I found a starfish.”
“Those live in the ocean too.”
She sticks her tongue out at me, and continues to look around.
“Look!” She holds up a rock with a green tint. “Is this it?”
“That’s it,” I reply. “It can be red, too.”
“I know.” She slides the rock in her bag and continues to work. Over the next hour we explore, finding several good sized pieces of jade, and enjoying the time together.
“It smells good here.”
I stop to take a deep breath. “Nothing like it.”
“Look at these smooth rocks.” She’s walking away from me, over smooth rocks that the tide has worn down over many years.
“Be careful, they’re slick.”
“I’m fine.” But suddenly her arms flail about and she loses her balance, falling into the water.
The tide is beginning to come back in, so it’s about waist deep where she is. I wade out to help her up and back to shore. She’s sputtering, pushing her hair off of her face.
She’s soaked.
“Damn it,” she mutters.
“I didn’t warn you soon enough.”
“Did I lose my rocks?”
“No.” I laugh and take the bag from her, and watch as she wrings her hair out. “It’s safe.”
“Good.” She sighs. “I’m cold and I need a shower.”
“Indeed.” I reach my hand out for her and she takes it, holding on tight as I lead her back to the hotel. The sun is just beginning to set.
When we reach our room, I put our treasure aside, and immediately walk into the bathroom and start the shower.
“I don’t want you to get sick. We need to warm you up.”
“I’m not stripping down in front of you.”
My lips twitch as I watch her prop her hands on her hips and look at me defiantly.
“No, ma’am. I wasn’t suggesting such a thing.” But I cross to her and kiss her forehead. “But, if you wanted to do that, I wouldn’t complain.”
I wink and walk away, leaving her to shower and get comfortable. In the meantime, I call down for room service. Steaks, salads, and cheesecake for dessert sounds good.
She’s not out yet when the food arrives, so I wheel the tray to the far side of the room where we can watch the sun sink down behind the water.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
I turn at the sound of her voice and feel my breath catch. Without any direction, or realizing that I’m doing it, I stand and walk to her. She’s wrapped in a towel, her hair washed and still damp.
“I tried to dry my hair, but hotel blow dryers suck.”
I push my fingers through the strands. “You are so beautiful, Lena.”
She swallows hard, watching me.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t take my clothes in the bathroom with me. I didn’t think about it.”
She’s slowly leaning toward me, as if she can’t help it.
Her hands are fisted in my shirt at my sides, her eyes staring at my throat.
“Lena?”
“Yes.”
She doesn’t look up.
“I want you.”
She swallows hard again and then finally meets my eyes with hers.
“I want you, too.”
That’s all I need. My lips are on hers, my hands buried in her damp hair as I feast on her. She reaches up to grip onto my shoulders and her towel simply falls, pooling at her feet.
I step back to look at her. She moves to cover her breasts, but I stop her.
“No. Don’t cover yourself.” She bites her lip. “God, Lena, you’re stunning.”
“You’ve seen it before.”
“I was a fool.” I reach out and touch her already tight nipple with the back of my finger. “I should have cherished you more.”
“You were gentle with me.”
“That’s not the same thing.” My eyes find hers again and I lift her in my arms, then lay her gently on the bed. “I want to explore every inch of you.”
“Well, you are an explorer,” she says with a grin. “But you’re terribly overdressed.”
“Would it make you feel better if I were naked too?”
She smiles and nods. How can I resist her?
I step back from the bed and shrug out of my shirt, my pants, and underwear and stand before her in just what God gave me.
“Wow.”
“You’ve seen it before,” I say, echoing her words.
“You’ve changed,” she murmurs. “You were handsome before, but damn, Mason.”
I grab her small foot and kiss it as I kneel on the bed. I kiss up to her knee, making her fall back against the pillows.
“You’re serious about this,” she says.
“Never been more serious about anything in my life.”
“Do I get to return the favor?”
“Later.”
She gasps when my tongue slides up her inner thigh. Her skin is soft and still dewy from the shower.
I glide my nose along the crease of her leg and her hands fist in the blankets.
She’s so damn responsive.
“You smell like you want me inside you.”
“Because I do,” she murmurs.
“Soon.” I lick the outer lips of her pussy and grin when she moans. “First, I get to learn you all over again.”
“You’re going to kill me.”
“But what a way to go.”
I smile up at her before I plant my tongue on her clit, then slide down into her lips and kiss her intimately. She’s writhing, her legs moving in agitation.
“Mason.”
“Mm hmm.”
She fists my hair in her hands and holds me to her, her hips moving against my mouth until she comes beautifully. Her whole body flushes, and she moans until her whole body just lets go.
“Now.” I climb over her and poise my cock against her pussy. “I need to be inside you right now.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t have any condoms.” I stare down at her, so pissed at myself for not bringing any.
“I have the birth control covered,” she says with a grin. “And I’m healthy.”
“Do you want to see my medical records?” I ask, making her laugh.
“No, I want you to fuck me.”
I push just the tip inside and lean my forehead against hers. “I’m not going to fuck you.”
“No?”
“No.” I push farther and stop. “I’m going to make you crazy.”
“Good.”
I push all the way in now and grind my pubis against her clit.
“I’m going to make you scream.”
“Thank God.”
My hips begin to move; I couldn’t stop them if I wanted to. “But I’m not going to fuck you.”
“Whatever you want to call it.”
I grip her hand in mine and pin it to the bed over her head, and reach under her ass with the other hand to angle her up just a bit. I can’t stop myself from moving faster, driving us both to the edge of reason.
She’s holding on with all her might. I rest my lips against hers.
“Come, baby.”
And just like that, her back arches and she comes apart under me. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, and I follow her over the edge, succumbing to my own orgasm.